When
Colonel Pitcairn heard the natives speak of Galagothu, the tree beast,
he abandoned his tiger hunting expedition and gathered a team to capture
this small, rare and extremely dangerous creature. The mission was a
success, but two of his men were killed, and a third was blinded by
this mysterious swine-ape that possessed incredible speed and surprising
strength for its size. The creature was a huge draw for the Colonel’s
traveling side show, but its temperament was highly unpredictable. When
the beast tore two fingers off a malicious child who teased it, the
Colonel had to pack up and leave during the night, before the constable
arrived to destroy his prized attraction.
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One
stormy night, the beast was particularly riled up by the thunder and
summoned the strength to begin
bending the bars of its cage. The animal keepers had no success in attempts
to stifle the violent beast. The head keeper was loading his gun when
an amazing thing happened. The storm had ripped a hole in the clowns’
tent, and little Kewpie, a pinhead clown, sought shelter in the animal
tent. Her presence there seemed to have a magical effect on the creature
as she toddled over and sat next to the now damaged cage. The beast
became so docile that the keepers were able to repair the cage and prevent
what could have been a horrific escape.
After that day, Kewpie visited the beast often. One morning, Head Keeper
Morley noticed his key ring was missing from the hook in his office.
That was a day that would never be forgotten by the folks at Colonel
Pitcairn’s traveling show.
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